The Replacements

I'm back in Toronto for a few days. One reason was the birthday of a friend. Last year just before I left, we celebrated in Koreatown with some eats. We have other plans for this year. Though I'm staying at their place, them managing two businesses means we only talked in short snippets. One good news was a troublesome sibling was moving an hour away for work, after years of failing at various MLM schemes and surviving on the family dole.

Thursday night, I headed down to The Horseshoe Tavern to see some local bands. Frank Moyo was first on deck. His bio described himself as a "busking bard" and there was some folky-pop vibes in the earnest lyrics. Yet the modern cadence and rhyme of songs like House in LA and Bedside Love Song, along with the chill vibe of the band, reminded me more of acoustic covers of forgettable R'n'B. There was also a paean (in 2022) to WWII soldiers (Boys of Major) and an Italian original (OK Dolce). The latter was my favourite perhaps because it departed from standard pop and I didn't understand the lyrics.

I was more into the second band headed by Rachel Bobbitt because she mostly avoided the typical love song and sang about problematic relatives (Call Inside The House), women not wanting children (More), and being a twin (Gemini Ties). At least half of her band (drummer, bassist) was a last-minute replacement due to Covid and other problems. I don't know if that was also the case with the lead guitarist because the harmonic interaction between them was outstanding.

The drummer and bassist also subbed in for headliner Housewife (formerly duo Moscow Apartment composed of Brighid Fry and Pascale Padilla). Their lead guitarist was also a sub which meant that Fry was the only permanent member tonight. This was inauspicious for their 1st EP under the new moniker. There were also problems with the backing/click tracks. So for few moments here and there things threatened to fall apart sonically. But Housewife was saved by the quality of the songs: body image (Annie), cat-calls (New Girl), toxicity (Awful People). All these folk-pop tunes were played live with a harder rock sound. Even the new You're Not The Worst (You want to write your poetry on the beach/But your poetry is shit) transformed into an Avril Lavigne punk-ish anthem. The absence of Padilla and the stage banter between them and Fry was sorely missed. I hope Padilla's no-show was only due to some temporary hiccup and not a departure. That would make Halfway, an ode to their friendship and musical collab, too poignant.

I don't usually include ticket prices (as opposed to food costs) in my posts but the $25 cover for 3 local bands (with small Baby G-sized crowds) crossed a psychological threshold for me. Thanks to time and inflation, gone were the $7 and $10 shows. That's to be expected. But the loss of local record shops selling tickets with a small markup is also a factor. Online vendors charge fees comparable to TicketMaster. A $15 show that became a $21 online purchase and then $25 at the door was quite a price-gouge. I don't envy young folks managing the high cost of living in Toronto, including ticket prices, while trying to have a social life.